The definition of a Beneficial Owner is a person who enjoys the benefits of ownership even though the title to some form of property is in another name. This can include any individual or group of individuals who, either directly or indirectly, has the power to vote or influence the transaction decisions regarding a specific security, such as shares in a company. The important thing to remember about beneficial owners is that they have control over what happens with that particular asset, even if they're not technically listed as the legal owner.There are several reasons why someone might be considered a beneficial owner. One common example is when someone owns shares in a company but doesn't actually have them registered in their own name. Instead, they're held under another person's name - usually their spouse or child - and those individuals have full voting rights for those shares. In this case, the person who actually owns the shares would be considered the beneficial owner because they reap all of the benefits from owning them without having any actual responsibility for them.Beneficial ownership can also be used to hide assets and avoid paying taxes. For example, "an individual might set up a shell company and transfer all their assets into it so that it appears as if they don't own anything valuable. However, because they still control what happens with that company (and its assets), it would still count as being owned by them beneficially and any money made from selling those assets would need to be declared on their tax return."
